Do you always walk your reservations?

[dianeschlicht]

I have never felt the need to "walk" a reservation at 11 months, even for a GV the first 3 weeks of December. I can see booking day by day at 7 months if you are trying to change a ressie, but that wouldn't be "walking" from a different start date. There really is no upside to trying it at 7 months. I can't see any logical reason why it work at 7 months.

If you were trying to book very limited inventory (value rooms, GVs at BW, or 2 bed second bedrooms at BC), then it might be something to try, but only at very popular DVC times, and only at 11 months.

 

[Disneyhappy]

I've walked 3 reservations since the changeover at the 7 month mark - each successfully - for Thanksgiving week and Easter. The villas I booked were not available at my 7 month mark so I was glad I did it instead of worrying about a witlst coming through. It is a pain but at least it is an option available under the rules.

 

[moreisgood]

Walking reservations is new to us, so I'm wondering how you decide whether to walk your reservation or not. Do you always walk your reservation, or only when you know that a lot of other folks will want the same thing you do?

We're planning a big family trip (DH, DD, DSIL, DS, DGD, & myself) for January 4-11, 2014 at our home resort, BWV. We're hoping for a GV but will be happy with a 2-BR plus a studio, any view. We wouldn't have the points to walk a reservation that started on Dec. 28 but could start with Jan. 1. Do you think we should get online on Feb. 1 to reserve Jan. 1-8, then walk it through the 11? Or do you think we can wait for Feb. 4 to reserve Jan. 4-11?

TIA!

What exactly is "walking your reservation"?

 

[JWG]

There really is no upside to trying it at 7 months. I can't see any logical reason why it work at 7 months.

It carrys the same upside as it does at 11 months with the exception that an owner could change their mind and book out from under you. But, it still gets you ahead of all of the othe non-owners.

I'll use my example again. Aulani this Christmas and New Years. It very well may not be available between Christmas and New Years, I can't check yet. I can only see through 12/24. But, if it's not available, it's because of Aulani owners. Given the popularity of the holidays, I'm going to assume owners have already booked what they want (of course that may not be true).

I now have a reservation for the room i want 12/18 - 12/25. We will be there 12/22 or 12/23 - 1/3. Because I have the room through 12/25, it's not available until 12/25. A non-owner can't book my room until 5/25. But, I can call and extend my reservation before 5/25 again taking it out of inventory for a non-owner.

It's not as full-proof as the 11-month mark when no one has access to book the later dates, but it still helps slightly over non-owners. In this case, I have transferred points I have to use and therefore I have to call MS to book. So, I can't use the online 1 hour advantage during a very popular time. Now I don't have to worry about it.

This is the first time we've done this and only because of the circumstances.

 

[crisi]

But owners don't have to "change" their minds - there are nights that just book up much farther out than other nights. And during times of year when "walking" might do some good, that is when owners might have booked up some of those nights four or five months before you can even start your walk - unless you intend to walk for months.

 

[binkblum]

Walking reservations is new to us, so I'm wondering how you decide whether to walk your reservation or not. Do you always walk your reservation, or only when you know that a lot of other folks will want the same thing you do?

We're planning a big family trip (DH, DD, DSIL, DS, DGD, & myself) for January 4-11, 2014 at our home resort, BWV. We're hoping for a GV but will be happy with a 2-BR plus a studio, any view. We wouldn't have the points to walk a reservation that started on Dec. 28 but could start with Jan. 1. Do you think we should get online on Feb. 1 to reserve Jan. 1-8, then walk it through the 11? Or do you think we can wait for Feb. 4 to reserve Jan. 4-11?

TIA!

I have used this before many times. Very effective as long as you ave enough points.

 

[Kidanifan08]

We own at AKV. We have walked twice to get concierge. Once for a 2BR in late May and most recently for a studio during Spring Break. For concierge, I would definitely do it again.

 

[nicki.momof3]

What exactly is "walking your reservation"?

Great question. I read the entire thread and am still not clear what "walking" a reservation is?

Please explain.

 

[dmunsil]

Great question. I read the entire thread and am still not clear what "walking" a reservation is?

I am not an expert on this, but I'll try to explain as best I can.

It's a way of getting a particularly difficult reservation ahead of the normal window. The 7 or 11 month window is measured from the first day of your booking, so if you want to book, say, 7 days over Xmas, you could book 7 days for a week or two before Xmas on the first day those dates are available for booking, and then every day or few days, you log in and extend your booking a day or two and trim some off the beginning until you have "walked" your booking to the dates you want.

The idea is that you have the best chance of getting those difficult days because you're booking the absolute earliest you could possibly book. And by keeping a live booking in the system the whole time covering a whole week, you minimize the chances that your plan could get messed up by having one booked-up day in the middle of your period. Obviously you also need to get on the computer right when the bookings open every morning because you're competing against all the other people who are walking their reservations.

If you have enough points, you can also book, say, 10 days at 11 months+9days out, then later shrink the beginning of the booking back down to the smaller number of days you really want.

It's a technique that gives you the absolute best chance of snagging a specific room type you think is going to be difficult to obtain. Whether it's really worth it or not is debatable. The consensus seems to be that unless you're trying to get something really tough like a BWV Grand Villa, it's not worth the extra hassle.

 

[Deb & Bill]

But at seven months out, it doesn't always work because members with that resort as a home resort can book those days you are waiting for right out from under you. Like they decide to add a few nights to their Christmas reservation or Spring Break or F&W. Or even a waitlist comes through for them before you can even book that night.

But at eleven months out, only the guests with the same home resort advantage as you can book the nights you want. So if you find seven nights in a row available a week before you really want to book that hard to book time, you book them. Then call MS the next day and drop the first night and add the last night. Until you get the seven nights you really want.

You pretty much have a lock on your reservation at that point because, the people who are starting to book the same nights as you, but start booking the day after you, don't have access to the nights you have already booked ahead of them. All they see is no vacancy for the first night they need to book and they can't book it.

You have to have enough points to do this because you might be booking over a higher point time, just to get to the lower point time (like NYE through early January). If you have to borrow to start the walking, you wind up with left over points at the end. You just have to make sure MS uses the points you borrowed first and then you bank any left overs (as long as you can still bank them).

 

[dmunsil]

But at seven months out, it doesn't always work because members with that resort as a home resort can book those days you are waiting for right out from under you.

I'd argue that you still have an advantage, albeit a smaller one. You're competing against all the resort owners, plus the non-owners who are also walking their reservations. You don't have to worry about the non-owner non-walkers. That's a fairly large chunk of people who you are presumably ahead of.

I think the bottom line is that if you're trying to get a very difficult reservation, walking is a way to potentially get a small edge on the folks who don't know about the technique. The tradeoff is that every day you have to wake up early and adjust your reservation.

If you're trying to get a 1 bedroom at SSR, it's clearly overkill, though.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd argue that you still have an advantage, albeit a smaller one. You're competing against all the resort owners, plus the non-owners who are also walking their reservations. You don't have to worry about the non-owner non-walkers. That's a fairly large chunk of people who you are presumably ahead of.

I think the bottom line is that if you're trying to get a very difficult reservation, walking is a way to potentially get a small edge on the folks who don't know about the technique. The tradeoff is that every day you have to wake up early and adjust your reservation.

If you're trying to get a 1 bedroom at SSR, it's clearly overkill, though.

The purpose of walking the reservation is to lock down seven nights. You can't lock anything down at seven months out. Home resort owners can book any of those nights.

 

[JWG]

The purpose of walking the reservation is to lock down seven nights. You can't lock anything down at seven months out. Home resort owners can book any of those nights.

At 7 months the goal is to not lockdown 7 nights, but stay ahead of non-resort owners. It's a different goal. Obviously owners can still have booked the nights even if you try it, but you know that others aren't ahead of you in the race at 7-months.

But, to be sure, this doesn't necessarily work. Case in point, the days I need at Aulani aren't available I'm worried about being able to get what we need. This may be the time I call my guide and see if I can pull a favor (we never did this when we purchased originally).

 

[dmunsil]

The purpose of walking the reservation is to lock down seven nights. You can't lock anything down at seven months out. Home resort owners can book any of those nights.

I don't understand what you're saying here. Are you saying that you can have a night booked, and that someone else can literally take that night away from you? I don't think that's true, but if I'm wrong I'd sure like to be corrected. Or are you saying that you could go to the trouble of walking your reservation and find when you get to the dates you want that home resort owners have already booked out all the rooms you are looking for?

If it's the latter, then sure, that's always a possibility. There's also a possibility that it can happen at 11 months because a bunch of people are also walking their reservations and are able to book one more day than you (because they have more points) or are just quicker on the draw every morning. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Walking the reservation gives you a small edge. It still gives you a (smaller) edge at 7 months. It's not some kind of magic technique that allows you to out-book an owner at that resort.

 

[grumpster37]

So if you are going to use this method to try and get the dates you want, ideally, how many days before hand do you start the walk? a week or more?

 

[dmunsil]

So if you are going to use this method to try and get the dates you want, ideally, how many days before hand do you start the walk? a week or more?

You start before the busy period, when you are confident you can get a room of the type you want. So if you want a room during Food and Wine, you start before Food and Wine begins.

 

[crisi]

I don't understand what you're saying here. Are you saying that you can have a night booked, and that someone else can literally take that night away from you? I don't think that's true, but if I'm wrong I'd sure like to be corrected. Or are you saying that you could go to the trouble of walking your reservation and find when you get to the dates you want that home resort owners have already booked out all the rooms you are looking for?

If it's the latter, then sure, that's always a possibility. There's also a possibility that it can happen at 11 months because a bunch of people are also walking their reservations and are able to book one more day than you (because they have more points) or are just quicker on the draw every morning. Nothing is ever guaranteed. Walking the reservation gives you a small edge. It still gives you a (smaller) edge at 7 months. It's not some kind of magic technique that allows you to out-book an owner at that resort.

I think what she's saying is that for a lot of the busy times, the issue with a day being gone in the middle is not that a non-owner slips in before you, its that availability is spotty due to owner occupation already.

If you have a case where there are a few rooms left through the busy period, walking makes sense. But if there is a day in the middle already booked, walking is a waste of time. It gives you a slightly better chance, but it can be a lot of work to discover that room is already gone in the middle of your stay.

That day in the middle already being booked is a pretty common thing when you are talking about high demand seasons and rooms, but because you can't see availability unless you own, its hard for you to realize that you are walking yourself right into a dead end. For instance, a two bedroom at BWV Pool View is already gone for JANUARY 8th, 9th and 11th - after Christmas.

Also, if a lot of people walk during busy seasons, then the chance of getting that room further diminishes.

 

[Anal Annie]

It carrys the same upside as it does at 11 months with the exception that an owner could change their mind and book out from under you. But, it still gets you ahead of all of the othe non-owners.

I'll use my example again. Aulani this Christmas and New Years. It very well may not be available between Christmas and New Years, I can't check yet. I can only see through 12/24. But, if it's not available, it's because of Aulani owners. Given the popularity of the holidays, I'm going to assume owners have already booked what they want (of course that may not be true).

I now have a reservation for the room i want 12/18 - 12/25. We will be there 12/22 or 12/23 - 1/3. Because I have the room through 12/25, it's not available until 12/25. A non-owner can't book my room until 5/25. But, I can call and extend my reservation before 5/25 again taking it out of inventory for a non-owner.

It's not as full-proof as the 11-month mark when no one has access to book the later dates, but it still helps slightly over non-owners. In this case, I have transferred points I have to use and therefore I have to call MS to book. So, I can't use the online 1 hour advantage during a very popular time. Now I don't have to worry about it.

This is the first time we've done this and only because of the circumstances.

I agree - it helps put you ahead of other people trying to book at the 7 month window which is important at some resorts for some dates. Obviously owners at the resort can always beat you out - it's the competition with other non-owners that it helps with.

I am not in the habit of walking but I was also planning a trip to Aulani for this summer but preceded by a few nights at VGC. In order for this trip to work I really needed a studio at VGC for 4 nights and since VGC is so small and there are so few studios I watched the availability daily leading up to my 7 mo. window opening date. VGC booked up completely right away so I was really paranoid. One night I went online to look and could see the 7 days that included the 4 we wanted plus of course the 3 leading up to it and they were still open. I knew from an owner that the days starting right AFTER what we wanted were already booked because of a D23 thing going on. But so all of a sudden I got the idea to just book the entire week, thereby preserving the 4 nights we wanted. It wasn't a premeditated move. It just sort of occurred to me that I could do it and then I could stop fretting and stop worrying about getting up early to be online 3 days later. We wanted to start the vacation on a Saturday which I figured would go quick too. So I booked the entire week and I called back a couple days later and cancelled off the extra 3 nights - knowing that the place was already fully booked I told myself that my cancellation probably let someone's waitlist come through - so somebody was going to be happy. Then my points were back in my account and ready for me to book Aulani online when that window opened. This isn't something I would do for the WDW resorts because there's always a Plan B. But with VGC it's a different story. We didn't have enough points for a 1 bedroom AND Aulani and I really didn't want to book PPH. I mean, it's OK but not what we wanted to spend our points on.

Anyway, from watching the availability at VGC for the summer months I know there's a lot of competition from others at the 7 month window so I was glad I made the move I did. Right or wrong.